Chapter 1 & 2
Nancy Burson, Androgyny, 1982
Digitally layered photographs of men and women to create a composite face with unknown gender; considered philosophical, ethical, and emotional effects of morphing identity
Catherine Opie, Chicken, 1991
Lesbians in drag project; viewers not certain if subject is male or female
Post Modernism
a late-20th-century style and concept in the arts, architecture, and criticism that separates from modernism and has a general distrust of grand theories and ideologies
theory
a set of knowledge and ideas that can be used in analysis
identity politics
a term used for refer to the beliefs and activities of those who target racism, sexism, homophobia, or other forms of prejudice, and work for social rights and parity
gaze
a term used to refer to how categories of people are stereotyped in visual representation by race, gender, sexuality, etc
deconstruction
a type of analysis that involves taking apart or disassembling old ways of thinking; developed by Jacques Derrida
appropriation
an approach to using ready-made objects and materials; using found materials, styles, images, etc
Relational Aesthetics
analysis of art focused on interhuman relations; example is Cai Gui- Qiang's Cultural Melting Bath
Kehinde Wiley, Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps, 2005
appropriates iconography that served to reinforce masculinity in different periods; recasted black men in the place of original paintings white men; subjects dressed in street clothes; challenged eurocentrism and class privelege
sound art
art practices that take listening and hearing at the main focus; example is Susan Philipsz's Lowlands
activist art
art with a political agenda
Amalia Ulman, Excellences and Perfections, 2014
artist uses fictional identity on instagram; stages herself to seem like model looking to start her career; critiques self improvement obsession
Nikki S. Lee, The Ohio Project (6), 1999
artists insinuates herself into over a dozen subculture groups to pose for photos showing identity is fluid
postidentity
catch-all term used for artists who identify as post-black, postfeminist, etc; artists who no longer adhere to their traditional collective identities; Trecartin and Fitch
theme
clustering of ideas around a particular topic
Hung Lui, Judgement of Paris, 1992
composition painting of painted historical images of Chinese and European women; two Chinese prostitutes on side, two exposed goddesses in middle; references 18th, 19th, 20th century culture clashes
Do Ho Suh, Karma, 2003
could symbolize some giant of privilege crushing the masses;
Santiago Sierra, Workers who cannot be paid, remunerated to remain inside cardboard boxes, 2000
critiqued capitalism
formalism
emphasis on form rather than content when creating and interpreting art
Guerrilla Girls
feminist group working anonymously that worked against the patriarchal power structure of the art world
carnivalesque
having the qualities of a carnival
James Luna, Artifact Piece, 1987
installation in anthro museum; artist laid on display for several hours; showing reality of present day native Americans
neoexpressionism
international art movement dominated by oversized canvases and emotional gestures; big consumer market in the 80s
iconography
interrelated, conventional set of symbols
polyphony
multiple voices expressing multiple perspectives without merging into one
reinscription
reversal of hierarchy; such as between men and women
Shirin Neshat, Women of Allah, 1992-93
series explores the ideology of women during the Islamic Revolution; layers Farsi, guns, and black veil; challenges western notion of Islamic women being weak
Lyle Ashton Harris, Memoirs of Hadrian, 2002
series of 12 unique polaroids; showed dynamics of blackness
Wilfred Prieto, Apolitical, 2001
set up 45 flags for countries represented by the UN; authentic flags in detail expect all grey; questioned the relevance of national identity in time of globalization
Will Wilson, Autoimmune Response, 2005
seven large scale, digitally-manipulated photos; addresses impact of colonialism on natives; refers to 1979 radioactive waste incident that affected artist's reservation
Carrie Mae Weems, Kitchen Table Series, 1990
some women appears in many photos at a kitchen table with different props and people; shows how identity is shaped by many variables
other
someone singled out as different in comparison to members of a dominant group
syncretism
synonym for hybridity; minglying of people and cultures
hybridity
synonym for syncretism; mingling of peoples and cultures
essentialism
term applied to statements and images that conveyed generic notions of identity
Rhizome
term used to describe non-hierarchical knowledge networks that allow for multiple entry and exit points; example is the internet
Post-structuralism
the concept that the underlying structure of a language or other symbolic system is not fixed or permanent
alterity
the practice of constructing the identity of cultural others through negative comparison
semiotics
the study of signs
postcolonialism
theory concerned with cultural interactions among people of different regions and communities
Feminist theory
theory that critiques hierarchical structures that contribute to male dominance and values
public art
visual art created for public settings
Kerry James Marshall, Better Homes, Better Gardens, 1994.
works using intense color (usually black) to show how blackness is fundamental to the African American culture; themes of identity, place, memories
